In 83 games for Glynn this season, Florimon hit .251 with 16 doubles, two triples and three home runs.

"He can really go from first to home," Glynn said. "He's got long legs and a great stride. Once he gets going, he can really cover some ground."

He can field, too, Glynn said.

"You're going to like watching him," he said. "He does stuff you can't teach."

The Twins signed Florimon, 25, who is from the Dominican Republic, off waivers in December.

"He's a really good guy who plays the position (shortstop) like he belongs," Glynn said.

Meanwhile, Glynn said shortstop Brian Dozier, recently demoted by the Twins to Rochester, has played well.

"He hit four bullets last night against Pawtucket and got one hit," Glynn said.

Glynn pointed out that one of his players, outfielder Wilkin Ramirez, has had an extraordinary three games.

"He was 7 for 7 in two games," Glynn said.

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"Then in the next game, he hit a ball that got lost in the sun, and they gave somebody an error -- otherwise, that would have been eight hits in a row. Then the next time he comes up, he hits a grand slam.

"That would have been nine hits in a row."

Guards Tyus Jones of Apple Valley and Rashad Vaughn of Robbinsdale Cooper leave Wednesday for the Elite 24 outdoor basketball tournament at Venice Beach, Calif., that will be televised on ESPNU on Saturday. The tournament features the top 24-rated prep basketball players in the country.

The Twins are 19 games under .500 and solidly in last place. There has been one redeeming part to the season, though: Cory Provus.

The first-year Twins radio play-by-play voice has been informative, descriptive and professional throughout the team's first 120 games. He's been delightful, despite the Twins' woes, to listen to.

"In an ideal world, you'd love the team to win more," Provus said the other day. "But I don't let what happens on the field impact or affect the way that I prepare for a game. I think that even though the record is what it is, I think our fans and our sponsors and the audience throughout the network are deserving of a dramatic call in a game-winning moment of the ninth inning.

"If you're 16 games under (.500) or you're 16 over, your fans deserve that same passion."

Provus has delivered.

"I don't let the record dictate how I prepare for a game; I try to separate the two," he said. "The only thing I can prepare for is how I prepare for the game and my energy level."

Provus, 34, spent three seasons in Chicago calling Cubs games with Ron Santo. He spent the next three years calling Milwaukee Brewers games with Bob Uecker.

He said coming to the Twins has been what he had hoped it would be.

"And more," he said. "I love coming to Target Field. I see all these national columns about how the attendance is down, and this ballpark and that city, and look where we're at here, for a team that's scuffling, still drawing 30,000-plus a night.

"I mean, I love coming here. I think our booth is great -- we have so much interaction from fans in our broadcast booth. I'm having a blast."

Provus plans to miss just one game this season, Aug. 31, when he'll be in Milwaukee for the unveiling of a statue of Uecker, a hall of fame broadcaster, at Miller Park.

"I talk to Bob all the time," Provus said.

Provus, who succeeded retired John Gordon in the booth, is in the first year of a three-year contract with the Twins, with a club-option fourth year.

"I don't want to go anywhere," said Provus, who was raised just north of Chicago. "We live in St. Louis Park, where there's so much to do. To be able to say I'm a lead broadcaster for a major league team, I'm very lucky. I don't take any of this for granted."

The best high school football player in Minnesota this season, other than Notre Dame-bound senior wideout James Onwualu of Cretin-Derham Hall, probably is Minneapolis Washburn junior all-purpose back Jeff Jones. The 6-foot, 190-pound Jones already has offers from Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin.

The Gophers men's basketball team is getting a recruiting visit from 6-7, 215-pound power forward Nigel Hayes on Sept. 7. Besides Minnesota, Hayes, who is from Toledo, Ohio, has offers from Ohio State and Wisconsin.

Thursday, Aug. 23, when Paul Molitor, Tony Oliva and Frank Quilici will join Nita Killebrew to dedicate the renovated $300,000 Harmon Killebrew Field at Pearl Park in south Minneapolis, happens to be the 58th anniversary of Killebrew's major league debut with the Washington Senators.

OVERHEARD

Twins VP for player personnel Mike Radcliff on rookie shortstop Pedro Florimon, who is hitting .500 after four games: "He has tools. He could be a late bloomer. He's always been able to do things; he just never hit a bunch. So we'll see if he's able to do that."